Demon Inside by H.L. Day
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The forces of darkness are gathering, and only two men can stand in their way.
Jude Campbell can see demons. His psychiatric history says it’s all in his head, but he knows they’re out there. Watching. Waiting. Biding their time.
Dante Moretti is the half demon child that should never have been born. He might exorcize demons, but the dark urges from his demon side are growing stronger, and he knows the day will come when he’ll lose himself to them completely.
When Jude’s time runs out, Dante is tasked with keeping him alive. Jude might be temptation personified, but for Jude’s sake, Dante won’t give in. Only, being together is changing them, in ways neither could possibly hope to understand, and it’s no longer clear who is saving who.
Destiny has come calling. And love could be its prize.
Rating: B
H.L. Day’s Demon Inside is a fast-paced, action/adventure paranormal romance set in London featuring likeable but flawed protagonists, an interesting plot and plenty of snark and steam. It has a few weaknesses – the romance feels a bit rushed and some elements of the story are a bit predictable – but it’s an entertaining read that kept me turning the pages, and I breezed through it in a couple of sittings
Jude Campbell has been able to see demons since he was a small child. In this world, demons possess human bodies and thus look completely normal on the outside, but Jude can see beyond that to the demonic ‘glow’ that radiates from their features. Unhappily, this ability has led to Jude’s being believed to be mentally unstable and a psychiatric history full of scepticism, doctors, therapists, drugs and an endless parade of different treatments. It’s perhaps not surprising that his parents never believed him – seeing demons is pretty fantastical after all – but they’ve never made any secret of their belief that he’s crazy, and at the age of sixteen, they had him sectioned (committed to hospital under the Mental Health Act), something for which Jude has never forgiven them. Now thirty-five, he’s estranged from his family – although he does have some contact with his younger brother – and is kind of drifting through life, struggling to hold down a job or a relationship, and sometimes even wondering if he really is mentally ill, if everyone around him is right and he’s the one in the wrong.
By rights, Dante Moretti should never have been born. Half human, half demon, he is a unique entity, one the demons intent on killing him call “Abominato”. Fighting off demons and sending them back to hell (while trying not to kill the host bodies) has been a constant in his life, but lately, the attacks have become more and more frequent, and he doesn’t know why. Given the increase in numbers, Dante really needs a better way of identifying his targets; he can’t see demons, he can only sense them, and even then, not until they’re really close. The irascible Father Rory McCormick – the closest thing to a father Dante has ever known – is following leads, trying to discover if the rumours about there being someone out there who is actually able to see demons are true, and also to see if he can find out the reasons for the increased frequency of the attacks.
You can read the rest of this review at All About Romance .
